The Inner Circle
by Weaselfac3
Summary: Following the events of the past few months, best friends Haida and Fenneko attempt to expand their tight friendship group by one. But they quickly learn the complications of taking an office friendship to the next level. And when you throw romance into the mix, it only gets harder. Cover art by: Benedict Coo @BenbenCoo (minor rewrite for season 2)
1. Chapter 1: All's Well that Starts Well

**Chapter one: all's well that starts well**

It was never really a struggle for Haida to adapt to office life. Moving straight from college into the workforce definitely gave him an edge over some of his college mates who disappeared to foreign countries for months at a time the second they escaped school life. For Haida there was no down time, no soul-searching trip through India and no tours of the west. The "out of the oven and into the frying pan" mentality had paid its dues.

Now he wasn't surprised when he realised work sucks just as much as college.

As he leant back in his chair, pulling his attention away from his spreadsheet he thought back on the optimistic conversations his classmates would have about post college life.

"No more late-night study sessions," they would say. "And no more shitty professors." While that statement was technically accurate, replacing a few key words got you right back to where the conversation began.

Haida glanced first at the stack of payment forms to be processed on his desk, then to the clock on the wall. Five o'clock had already elapsed and the office was still mostly full, bar a few key management roles of course.  
However, full as it was it was almost dead quiet excluding the normal office white noise. People had family and friends to attend to and as such were focused on getting the work done before it got too late.  
Haida on the other hand had no plans for a Thursday night. To say his life was quiet these days would be an understatement. His life had tumbled into a miasma of eat, sleep and repeat for most days, with the occasional work drinks or college meetup to break the monotony. He didn't hate this per se, rather he felt like each day that passed he became more of a blank canvas.

A corporate slave…in a way.

Haida's mind was brought away from his depressing line of thought by an irritating, repetitive tapping noise. His eyes darted across the office, looking for the sound that had brought him out of a perfectly good session of self-loathing.  
His eyes finally fixated on a pair of black shoes, tapping away on the polished tile floor of the office. As his eyes traced up though, his irritated expression softened as he realised who the source of his sudden vexation was.

As the office slowly began to wind down and people began closing their laptops and ledgers Haida sat, staring curiously.  
She had an amazingly expressive face. A smile that could stretch from ear to ear if given the right reason and eyes that could convey a sea of emotions within the space of a blink. Her upbeat and almost endingly positive outlook on life could bring the most self-doubting person into a place of confidence and calmness. Sure, she could have her moments of sadness, and when those moments hit, they hit like a freight train. But Retsuko's resting facial expression was almost always one that left Haida feeling positive.

And this afternoon was no different. With her eyes locked to her laptop screen and a content grin on her face she typed away all Haida's negative thoughts. He smiled as he realised she had been tapping her feet along to the music she was listening to, her white earbuds buried deep in her ears. He pondered on what song she would have been listening to, but he furrowed his brow. Her feet were tapping far too fast for it to be any kind of pop music, and too sporadic for it to be electronic. His curiosity grew even more as she began to mouth out the words to the mystery tune. Haida focused, trying desperately to remember how to read lips.

His concentration was instantly severed by the startling buzzing of his phone, making his heart skip a beat for a moment. He recollected himself and unlocked his phone.

"You're staring again," the message read from Fenneko. Haida pulled his phone underneath the table as if to shield it from view.

"I wasn't staring," Haida typed back, feeling a little attacked.

"Forty five seconds is a new record for you," Fenneko's next message read. "I was worried that if I didn't distract you, you might start drooling."

Haida shot a quick glance at his co-worker sitting opposite him, but her gaze was set on her computer, leading him to believe she was sending the messages from the computer. If Retsuko had the power to fill Haida with confidence, then Fenneko was the polar opposite. She had the innate ability to zero in on a situation or person and find any and all flaws. Especially Haida's.

"You must be working hard," Haida typed ironically. "Haven't you got better things to do with your time?" He threw in a smug emoji for good measure.

"I'm done," was her simple response. "Besides, time spent watching you suffer is time well spent in my regards."

"I wasn't staring!" Haida typed furiously on his phone screen.

"You seem tense. Drinks?" she replied.

"Now?"

"Why not?"

Haida pondered this question briefly before composing his response on his phone. "Depends on who with." He stared at his phone as he watched the _message typing_ symbol bounce up and down, disappearing a few times as fenneko restructured her answer.

"What answer is going to get you to come out?" She finally replied. He shot a quick stare across the room at her. She didn't look away from her screen, but he knew she had noticed.

"Let's just go you and me," he typed. "Like the good old days."

Without missing a beat, Fenneko turned her head away from her screen and to Retsuko who sat in the seat next to her.

"Hey Retsuko," she spoke loud enough for Retsuko to hear over her music. Retsuko looked startled for a moment as she quickly ripped her headphones from her ears and pushed them into her lap under the desk.

"W-what's up?" Retsuko nervously replied like she had been caught in the act of committing a crime.

"Haida was just saying we should all get a drink together tonight," Fenneko emotionlessly spoke.

Haida jumped slightly out of his seat, his chair wheeling back slightly.

"T-that's not…" He let his sentence trail off, hoping someone might fill in the blank space for him.

"Sorry guys," Retsuko picked the conversation up delicately. She closed her laptop and stood up from her desk. "Cant tonight…maybe tomorrow if you are still up for it?"

Haida let the air escape from his lungs before sinking back down into his seat, a mixture of relief and disappointment washing over him.

"Y-yeah," he smiled. "Tomorrow…sure."

"Sounds like a plan then," Retsuko smiled as she picked up her handbag. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow," Fenneko replied with a lilt of emotion.

Haida and Fenneko quietly watched as Retsuko walked out of the office, her shoes once again tapping repetitively on the tiled floor. The moment Retsuko rounded the corner out of sight Haida Darted his view back to Fenneko, leaning across the desk slightly.

"Why do I even hang out with you?" He spoke in aggressive yet hushed tones.

"We're still on for drinks though, right?" she smiled and Haida simply sighed. Retsuko's polar opposite was a _very_ apt description.

Shibuya district was a vibrant and bustling part of Tokyo. Known for its bars and nightclubs, it was a hotspot for after work drinks, and a Thursday night was no different. While it didn't quite draw the crowd of a Friday or a weekend, there was still a happy hour and as such the bars were still crowded.

Haida and Fenneko had made their way to a favourite of theirs, _The Public stand_. It was a small, upstairs bar across the road from Shibuya station. It was a nice blend of traditional and western design, keeping the booths but changing it up with more modern architecture.  
The best part however was that it remained, for the most part relatively quiet until the ten pm nightclubbing crowd shuffled in.

"Cheers!" Haida and Fenneko announced loudly as they clinked their glasses together in the comfort of their semicircular booth. Haida took a large swig from his beer while Fenneko opted to take a small sip of her wine before swirling the glass around in her hand.

Haida took a moment to enjoy his first drink of the day as well as his surroundings. The bar wasn't crowded, nor was it empty. About three or four small parties of two to four were scattered around the bar, all smiling and laughing at their own inside jokes and conversations.  
It was clear to him that most of the groups were also having after work drinks as suit jackets lined the backs of many chairs. No time was wasted between office and bar it seemed, not that he could talk as he looked down at his own clothes. He took a moment to take his tie off, making him feel slightly better about his haste in getting to the bar.  
Fenneko on the other hand had found time to change to her more casual attire before leaving the office. She had an efficiency about her that sometimes boggled the mind. There were few obstacles she could either overcome, or at least break down with her dark and cynical logic. Haida often described her as calculative, but she had her moments when emotion would take control and she would lose her unbreakable deadpan smile.

This, however, was not one of those times. She sat wordlessly, swirling her drink and staring at him. Her wry smile didn't leave her face and her eyes didn't move. It was like she was staring into his soul.

"Who's staring now?" Haida spoke condescendingly, leaning back in his set and taking another mouthful of beer. Fenneko remained unmoving, creating a very awkward silence between the two of them. Haidas eyes shifted from left to right as he waited to see if she was going to speak, but it was like she was frozen.

"Ok, now you're starting to freak me out."

"So?" Fenneko finally spoke.

Haida paused for a moment. "So…what?" He asked.

"You know what," she jeered.

He placed is beer back on the table and leaned in slightly. "I clearly don't know what _what_ you are talking about, so…"

Fenneko chuckled lightly. "Cleary you do, otherwise you wouldn't get so defensive."

"I'm not-" Haida caught his tongue before his voice rose too high. He could see a pair of women at the bar glancing back to them through the corner of his eye. He took a breath and leaned back in his chair before taking a larger than average sip from his drink.

He absolutely knew what she was asking.

"Look," he sighed. "I think we should just enjoy our drinks."

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed. "Something happened between you two"

"No!" Again, Haida bit his tongue before his voice got too loud. "Nothing Happened…exactly."

Fenneko rolled her eyes before finishing her wine. She took a gasp of air as she almost slammed her glass back on the table. She then turned to look across the room at the bar. "Kaito," she yelled to the bartender while waving two fingers in the air. The man at the bar looked over and nodded before moving to the beer tap.  
Fenneko refocused her attention back to her phone sitting on the table, briefly tapping out a message before looking back to Haida.

"Finish your drink then start from the top," she said with a gesture to his half-finished beer.

Haida looked at his friend with a puzzled gaze but finished his drink none the less. And with perfect timing that can only come from someone with precision drinking skills, a new beer was placed in front of him before his empty glass could even land back on the table.  
Haida looked at the bartender who gave a quick polite bow before then turning to Fenneko who was holding her new wine glass up to the light as if she were checking it for imperfections.

"Please miss," the bartender spoke as he bowed politely. "I have started a tab for your table, if you would please pay before you leave tonight."

"Thank you Kaito," Fenneko politely nodded in return, dismissing the bartender. She took a sip of her drink as she watched Kaito the bartender return to his post. Once she was sure he was out of ear shot she turned back to look at Haida.

"Word for word," she remarked, her trademark grin back on her face. "Don't leave any details out."

Hours passed and so had drinks. The bar had begun to slowly fill to the point that there weren't any seats or booths left unoccupied. What had started out as quiet after work drinks had quickly spiralled out of control, and as such Haida was now comfortably numb. He had lost count of exactly how many drinks he had consumed. It was somewhere around the five or six mark. He wasn't drunk by any means; however his inhibitions had certainly gone out the window.  
He understood that Fenneko was trying to get him drunk to make the conversation flow a bit easier, but he did appreciate having someone to talk to.

"So, let me make sure I've got this straight," Fenneko spoke with a lilt to her voice, having to raise her volume to be heard over the growing crowd. "Secretary Washimi and Director Gori approached you to assist in the kidnapping of a multimillion dollar CEO in order to reveal his intentions with Retsuko?"

"I know its wild, but you are correct so far," Haida replied.

"However, Retsuko intervened and took all of you to…a karaoke bar?"

"I don't know what the significance of the karaoke bar is," Haida quickly added as he sipped his beverage. "And I stayed outside with the car."

"Maybe they met in a karaoke bar," Fenneko pondered. "Although I cant imagine a guy as loaded as Tadano hanging around a place like that."

"Can we stay on topic please," Haida Grumbled.

"Details are important Haida," Fenneko almost whipped her drink for her hands. "What happened when they came out?"

Haida let out a frustrated sigh, feeling his friend had missed his point completely. He continued none the less.

"Tadano came out first. He seemed upset but not angry," Haida scratched his chin as he thought back to that night. "I asked if he was okay and he gave me a smile before he took the limo and left."

"And Retsuko?"

"She came out with Washimi and Gori maybe twenty minutes later…it was clear she had been crying."

Fenneko suddenly threw her hands up in frustration and sunk back into her seat.

"I still don't know who broke up with who," She grumbled.

Haida felt his frustration peak and he decided at that moment to finish his drink before standing up from his seat.

"You know what," Haida began with a roll of his eyes. "It's clear you only care about the gossip and not what I have to say."

"Oh, sit back down you big baby," Fenneko whined "I listened to your dumb little problems."

"It's not a dumb little problem!" Haida snapped back. "That just shows to me that you aren't listening."

"You're upset because three months ago Retsuko told you she wasn't looking for a relationship at the time," Fenneko spoke in a suddenly serious tone of voice. "So, you gave her some space like the gentleman you are. Next thing you know she goes off and finds some other guy."

Haida was taken aback by Fenneko's sudden Change in demeaner, and as such slowly took his seat once more.

"You feel indignant about this because in your mind you did everything right, but it didn't matter," Fenneko continued. "However, what your dumb man brain seems uncapable of understanding is that three months blew past and you didn't show a single sign that you were still interested in her in a romantic way."

Haida felt his chest sink as Fenneko broke down every flaw in his argument one by one.

"Did you honestly think if you just sat back and waited her emotions would flick over like a switch?" She probed, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You can't just take a back seat for three months and not expect someone else to swoop in and take her heart from underneath your feet."

Fenneko took a deep breath as she finished her tirade and a silence fell over the pair. Haida hated it, but Fenneko was right. After his confession at the hospital he thought the best course of action was to give her space. But he couldn't deny Fenneko's point. He gave her the space she needed, then he did nothing. Sure, there were times he asked her to join him for after work drinks. But every instance he included friends into the equation, too shy to ask her out directly.

Haida sheepishly waved down the bartender for another drink.

"That got pretty real pretty quickly," Haida mumbled.

"Sorry," Fenneko responded in a much softer tone of voice. "But I think it needed to be said."

A fresh beer was placed in front of Haida and he quickly downed his sorrows in a refreshing gulp. With a sigh he placed his glass back down on the table and looked across to his friend.

"You're right," He admitted. "I messed up."

"Its not the end of the world," Fenneko spoke as she finished the last of the wine sitting in her glass. "In fact, this might be a blessing in disguise."

"How so?" Haida scratched his head.

"Everything is back to square one now," She explained. "Not to mention we know a little more about her life outside of work."

Haida felt himself chuckle. "I suppose you are right in a way. Who would have guessed she had been hanging out with people like secretary Washimi?"

"I Know!" Fenneko exclaimed as she waved down the bartender for another drink. "How did they even meet? I've never seen them talk while in the office."

"Maybe they are Karaoke buddies," Haida laughed.

"Can you imagine Director Gori singing?" Fenneko giggled "I'm sure the Karaoke bar was a random choice for privacy of the breakup."

Kaito the bartender placed a fresh glass of red wine in front of Fenneko and she thanked him before leaning over in her seat and reaching into her handbag. Haida assumed she was reaching for her phone, being the social media addict that she was. However, his brow furrowed as she pulled a small notepad and pen from the bag and placed it on the table.

"Hoping to play some naught's and crosses?" Haida Joked as he sipped his beer. Fenneko just rolled her eyes as she clicked her pen open.

"I'm writing down the plan."

"The…plan?" Haida was confused.

"Well, since you seem completely incapable of any form of follow through on your own, I figured we would actually have a plan this time."

Haida sat silent for a moment, trying to process the insult she had just laid on him. He decided not to react.

"And what exactly does this plan entail?" Haida asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"That's what we are going to workout right now," She responded without looking up from what she had begun to write on the paper. "This is a team effort and all I have is the title at the moment."

"The title?" Haida was lost.

"The title is…" Fenneko held the paper up to read what she had written as though she were reading from an ancient scroll. "Mission impossible: A full proof plan to get Haida a girlfriend and cement a new member into our exclusive friendship club."

Haida Rolled his eyes. "Ignoring the obvious insult, can we really call it an ' _exclusive friendship club'_ when it is just you and I?"

"What's more exclusive than that?"

Haida sighed and collapsed deeper into his seat. He reached to the table and grabbed his drink, bringing it to rest on his chest to be easily leaned into his mouth. Haida had known Fenneko for long enough to know when she had made a decision about something. The moment she was certain of something she no longer felt the need to ask permission to proceed.

It was Clear to Haida that wheels had just been set in motion and he was along for the ride.

"Alright," he sighed. "What did you have in mind?"


	2. Chapter 2: The Best Laid Plans

**Chapter Two: Three Part Annihilation**

Minor hangovers were quite often worse than full blown hangovers. At least with a full hangover you were in bed and didn't have to move. But with a minor hangover you still needed to go about your day like nothing was different.  
Every step Haida took up the front steps to his office building sent shockwaves of nerve pain directly into his brain. Every second of his morning had been a struggle. From waking up late to having to catch the peak hour train, everything was against him this morning.

He entered through the automatic doors and into the marble floored foyer, each step echoing annoyingly around the room. He took his normal detour to the left, heading over to the tiny coffee shop in the corner.

Coffee was the most important stop this morning, it was going to be his source of power. Not just to get through the workday, but to give him the energy and courage to execute every minute detail of the plan they had discussed for the better half of last night.

If today was going to succeed, there was little room for any error, distraction or even slight deviation to the plan. And step one of that plan…Coffee.

"Morning Haida," the young, perky barista shouted as Haida pushed the glass door open to the tiny coffee shop. "The usual?"

"Morning Koharu," Haida feigned a smile. "A double shot this morning please."

Koharu shot him a look before moving over to the espresso machine. "Rough morning?"

"Rough night," he explained. "Went out to Shibuya for a drink and one thing lead to another."

"Oh my god me and my girlfriends were out in Shibuya last night too!" Koharu spoke a little too loud for Haida's liking. "We went bar hopping, I had _way_ too much to drink."

Haida raised an eyebrow at the girl as she moved to the milk frothing machine. At first, he was sceptical as she didn't look hungover in the slightest. Then he remembered the girl was still young. College age if he were to hazard a guess. He thought back on when he was that young and how easy it was the morning after.

Growing older sucked.

"Take advantage of it while it lasts," he smiled as they exchanged coffee for yen. "Every year from now on it gets harder and harder the next day."

"What do you mean?" she asked naively.

"Hangover's Koharu," he rubbed the back of his neck. "They get worse and worse the older you get."

"Oh," she giggled. "So, you're hungover?"

"I mean, just a little bit."

"Well I've still got a while until I reached your stage, so I'm not too worried," she smiled. Haida shot her a Curious glance.

"What are you saying?"

"Well, I mean," Koharu looked awkwardly to the roof. "You _are_ a fair bit older than me, right?"

Haida was hurt. Did he look old? In the eyes of this naive girl, was the mid-twenties classified as old now? An image flashed through his mind; an old and grey Haida sitting in his rocking chair, a cane in one hand and a dilapidated old bass guitar resting on his knee. It sent a weird shiver up his spine.

He chuckled nervously. "Koharu I'm not that much older than you," he explained. "I mean I'm only twenty fi-" Haida cut himself short as a wave of painful information flooded his brain like a dam bursting. His eyes widened, and his breathing stopped as the realisation came to him.

"You okay Haida?" Koharu questioned, shooting him a look.

"W-what day is it?"

"Friday."

"N-no the date, what's the date?"

"The…" She looked at her phone on the counter. "Seventh of June, why?"

Haida's thoughts were confirmed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes tight, letting out a groan.

"Sorry Koharu, I've got to go," Haida turned to the glass door. "If I'm late Ton will kill me." It was a canned excuse, but it served its purpose.

He didn't wait for her answer, simply turning and making his way back out into the foyer. How could he forget something so simple? Its not like it was a rare occasion. He needed to keep a lid on this realisation. The last thing he needed was sudden sensationalising to hinder perfectly prepared procedures practiced profusely throughout the night just past.

He smiled to himself over his inner monologues alliteration as he pressed the button to call an elevator, taking a large sip from his coffee and hoping it might ease his aching head. Koharu was young and nieve, but he would be dammed if she didn't make a spectacular morning latte.  
The elevator let out its trademark bell sound as the doors opened and Haida stepped inside, selecting floor number fifteen.

 _Ground floor_ the elevator announced itself.

Haida took a moment to close his eyes, hoping a peaceful ride up the Lethargic elevator might give him time to clear his mind and pick up the broken pieces that was his morning so far. Its wasn't a massive disaster as it stood right now. He just needed to get to Fenneko and update her with these unexpected developments and they could shift the plan accordingly.

As the doors began to close he heard a cry from across the foyer that made him instinctively hit the _doors open_ button.

"Hold the door!" the voice shouted, accompanied by the fast tapping of shoes on tile. The doors slowly reopened to reveal the bushy eyed Retsuko, rushing for the door.

"R-Retsuko," Haida stammered. Out of all the people to rush for the elevator, it had to be her.

"Oh, Haida," Retsuko looked up to him with a small chuckle as she settled into the elevator. "I didn't even notice it was you." She smiled up at him and he looked down to her, dumbfounded. The doors closed with a ding and began its agonising rise to the fifteenth floor.

What the hell was happening to him this morning? First he overslept, then the hangover, then Koharu reminding him of things he would much rather forget and to top it all off he shares a lift with Retsuko before he even has a chance to wake up.

What god had he pissed off last night for his plans to be so far off target before the working day could technically even start?

 _Floor two_

"So…" Retsuko finally broke the Silence Haida didn't even realise he was causing. "How was last night?"

"Last night?" Haida lost his train of thought for a moment before the conversation with Fenneko came to the centre of his mind, making him choke on his sip of coffee. "Pretty normal," he managed to choke out between coughs. Did she somehow know they had been talking about her all night?

 _Floor four_

"Really?" she seemed dubious. "You seem a bit out of it."

"I do?" he stalled, trying to form the sentences Fenneko and he had planned meticulously last night.

"I mean…." he rubbed his neck. "It was just Fenneko and I, nothing exciting to report. Though I might have had one too many, and I'm suffering for it…in more ways than one." He mumbled the last part into his coffee lid, feeling slightly guilty for lying.

 _Floor ten_

"Do you still want to go out tonight?" Retsuko asked delicately. "Sounds to me like you might be all partied out."

"Yes!" he almost shouted. He had practiced this conversation all night on the way home last night "I-I mean no…" and he already screwed it up. He bit his tongue and took a second to reset his confidence. He took a sip of coffee and a deep breath before continuing.

 _Floor thirteen_

"What I mean to say," he spoke calmly. "Is that tonight is still happening as far as I'm aware."

"I'm glad," Retsuko beamed at Haida, making his heart melt for a moment. "This week has just…let's just say I'm hoping for a surprise free Friday."

Haida let out a chuckle. "You have no idea how much I agree with you on that one."

The elevator slowed to a stop and announced that they had arrived at floor fifteen. The doors peeled open and the two of them stepped out into the tiled hallway leading to the accounting department. Their steps echoed through the hallway, piercing the silence between them as they took a right turn around the corner. Haida had a wave of things he wanted to say, but he thought it best to keep his mouth shut for the time being until he could inform Fenneko of the potential change to the plan. He just needed enough time to recover from the hangover and wake up properly before anything could move forward.

"Alright let's make a deal," Retsuko finally broke the silence. Haida looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "We keep our heads down, fly under the radar and get out of here on time today."

"Seems…" Haida thought for a moment. "seems pretty easy. Deal!" He nodded his head with a smile and she smiled back.

"No surprises," She stated.

"No surprises," Haida confirmed.

They rounded the final corner and Haida placed his hand on the door handle leading into the accounting department, pulling the handle down to open the door.

The door swung open and Haida's heart instantly sank to the bottom of his chest.

"Surprise!" Sung a chorus of Accounting staff as they gathered at the entrance to the department. Kabae stood front and centre of the group, a large, pink frosted cake held in her outstretched hands. Haida didn't need to count to know that the cake was topped with exactly twenty-seven burning candles. His eyes shifted over the crowd and finally landed on Fenneko, who's stony death stare spoke volumes on how she felt about this revelation. He screamed inside his mind.

The nightmare was real.

"You thought you could slip by unnoticed on your special day?" Kabae almost shouted in her signature tone.

"How did you…" Haida left the question trailing, to be honest he didn't really want to know.

"All birthdays are recorded down in our system dearie," the snake like Tsubone spoke with a slight lilt to her voice. "We wouldn't want our employees to think they don't mean anything to the company, now would we?"

"No surprises huh?" Retsuko queried to Haida, a slightly frustrated look on her face. Haida rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down to her. He tried to form a sentence, an excuse, anything that would kill this moment. But he was paralysed in place.

"It seems our Haida managed to forget his own birthday," Fenneko spoke in a tone that Haida knew all to well. He was in trouble… _big_ trouble. "Lucky for him it seems Ookami and Kabae have taken the liberty of organising his birthday party."

A sharp stabbing pain ran through Haida's brain at this sentence. Now he knew why he was getting the Fenneko death stare.

"M-my what?" He stammered. He tried to edge his way around the crowd and to his desk, but he was set firmly as the centre of attention.

"Don't _'my what?'_ me Haida," Ookami swooped in, putting his arm around Haida's neck. "We figured, since you hadn't talked about any birthday plans, you were going to try to let it sail on by without any recognition. So we booked a room at a bar for birthday drinks tonight."

Haida buried his head in his hand. "Maybe I already had plans that didn't involve you Ookami," Haida sassed under his breath.

Ookami suddenly grinned an evil grin. "Haida you old dog, did you have a date planned for tonight?" He elbowed Haida in the ribs making him flinch. "Some special girl you have been keeping a secret from us?"

Haida's eyes suddenly darted across to Retsuko to see a shocked look in her eyes and a noticeable blush across her face.

"N-no!" he panicked. "No Date! No plans! Nothing planned." He could see Fenneko plant her face into her palm through the corner of his eye.

"I'm just messing with you man," Ookami jeered, lightly punching Haida in the arm. "I know you haven't got a date."

"Dude!" Haida defended himself. "I am a few snide comments away from breaking my rule of no stabbing co-workers with office supplies."

Haida was ready for the sweet embrace of death at this point. He wondered silently if he would have enough force to throw himself through the window and onto the pavement below. Maybe Fenneko would take pity on him and kindly strangle him to death.  
Maybe there was a service that catered for this exact situation? Some kind of hotline? _1800 fuck my life_ had a good ring to it.

"That's enough," Tons demanding voice cut through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. "there's not going to be a party if we don't finish the _Hark & Co_ merger account today."

A Hush fell over the department and people slowly began to move to their respective desks. Haida moved over and sat down behind his computer, powering it up. He took a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose and breath. This morning had been an unmitigated disaster. Fenneko and Haida had spent hours last night thinking over every iteration of potential drawbacks to their supposedly infallible plan of attack. However, nothing could have prepared them for this morning.

He dared to take a peek across the table at Fenneko, but instantly looked away like a scolded puppy as she maintained her deathly stare in his direction. He tried to take solace in Retsuko, and thankfully she shot him a quick and confused smile, mouthing the words "happy birthday" to him.

Today was going to be rough.

*Later at the bar

Fenneko leaned back against the bar, looking out into the room crammed full with half of the accounting department as well as some stragglers from other departments. Sheyda Bar in Roppongi was their destination for the start of the night, and Fenneko didn't like it one bit. Most bars in the Roppongi district tried too hard to accommodate the western tourist's and expats that it was famous for. As such the place was loud, crowded and woefully expensive. Not to mention the surrounding nightclubs brought out a particular breed of citizen that did not sit right with her.

Fenneko searched the dimly lit bar with her eyes until they finally rested on Haida. Surrounded by his male co-workers and with a beer in hand he stood awkwardly on the far side of the room. It was clear that he had no interest in whatever conversation he had been dragged into, but as the plan ruining birthday boy Fenneko felt he was getting his just desserts.

She had already taken their lunchtime break to remind him how stupid he was. He was the only man on the planet that could forget his own birthday. Of course, he had offered some lame excuses as to why he was so utterly inept, all of which were irrelevant.  
"Don't try to put this all on me" he had defended himself "we had a deal remember? You remember the dates and I pony up for the tickets at the door". Fenneko reminded him that this deal was specific to remembering concert dates and not birthdays, but he was set in defence by this stage so there was no reasoning with him.

She let out a silent sigh before turning back to the bar and hopping up onto the stool, sipping from her wine in the process. Fenneko, Retsuko and Tsunoda had decided early on in this bar trip to leave the boys to their own devices, and as such now sat together at the bar. She wasn't exactly thrilled to have Tsunoda tagging along, but it seemed an inevitability at this point. At least the more obnoxious Kabae had called it an early night.

Fenneko took another sip of her drink and pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, taking a moment to check her social media feed while Retsuko and Tsunoda spoke with each other. She wasn't surprised to see the standard Friday feed as she scrolled down. A few pictures of food from restaurants, some drink pictures and some nonsensical quotes posted by people who don't fully understand what they mean. She clicked onwards until she stopped on yet another article speculating on Tadano and Retsuko.  
It was a strange experience to see someone you know mentioned in the title of a sensationalised news distributor, but it had become a somewhat common experience over the past few days. Unfortunately the journalists had picked up quickly on retsuko's recent absense and had run with over the top headlines about breakups and heartbreak.

She rolled her eyes and put her phone down. Todays events had put her in a kind of pensive mood that not even glancing at others social media stupidity could fix. Instead she decided to go for a more local source, moving her attention towards Tsunoda.  
She was deep into a conversation with Retsuko, who sat between the two of them, a glass of sparkling white wine sat in front of Tsunoda and in front of Restuko sat, no surprise, a half-finished beer. Though it was worth noting that this was her third beer in just over an hour.

Fenneko focused her hearing on the pair to try to catch up to the conversation.

"Over six years at least," Tsunoda Spoke with a wave of her hand. "He was already there by the time I joined the company."

"I would guess maybe longer than that even," Retsuko replied. "He seemed to know what he was doing when I started."

"What are we talking about?" Fenneko finally joined the conversation, her curiosity peeked.

"Birthday boy over there," Tsunoda answered with a nod of her head back at the crowd of guys behind them. "We were just trying to work out how long he's been with the company."

Fenneko smiled and took a quick sip of her wine as she cast her mind back. It was easy for her to remember, unlike _some_ people she had a memory capable of retaining important details…and dates.

"He would have started about seven years ago," she nodded to herself. "Give or take a few months."

"Wow!" Retsuko exclaimed. "That's longer than I thought."

"He started about six months before I did, so I think seven years is correct."

"Has he always been Mr popular?" Tsunoda asked with a lilt to her voice. Fenneko took a moment to look back at the crowd behind them. Haida was still situated in the centre of the group, though a less awkward smile was sitting on his face now.

"Pretty much, yeah," Fenneko nodded as she pulled her gaze back to the girls. "He has the type of personality that doesn't really rock the boat; makes it pretty easy for people to get along with him."

"That's true," Retsuko spoke into her beer before taking a large swill to finish the glass. Fenneko followed suit and finisher her wine before waving the bartender down for another round.

"He's always been that personality type really," Fenneko continued. "Though he tries to act like he's not a pushover, he really is too passive for his own good sometimes."

A fresh beer and wine were placed before the pair and they both took a quick sip of their respective drinks.

"Wait," Retsuko put a hand up in a stopping motion. "You knew Haida before you started working here?"

Fenneko silently bit her tongue as she realised she had revealed a little too much. She shot out a quick smile and played it cool.

"A story for another time perhaps," she explained as she took another sip of her drink. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell Retsuko everything about it, it was more Tsunoda that she would rather was kept out of the loop.

" _All in good time,"_ she thought to herself. _"Patience is a virtue."_

"well you're no fun," Tsunoda pouted as she finished her glass, signalling to the bartender for another. Fenneko let a soft and distinctly fake laugh pass through her closed mouth, the phrase _"this bitch"_ wafting whimsically through her mind for a brief moment.

"But enough about me and _woefully inept memory man_ over there," Fenneko pulled the conversation away from the danger zone. "Let's talk about the fact that you're on your fourth beer within an hour and a half Retsuko.," She ended with a look to the fresh drink in Retsuko's hands.

Retsuko looked down the bar for a moment as a light blush crossed over her face. It seemed that Fenneko had hit the topic button she was looking for.

"Rough week Retsuko?" Tsunoda asked in a strangely gentle voice that Fenneko had never heard from her.

"No offence Tsunoda, but you don't have to pretend," Retsuko mumbled into her drink. "Everyone has seen the articles."

A Silence fell over the trio as they all took a sip of their drinks. For a moment you could cut the tension between them with a knife.

"He's a jerk anyway," Tsunoda suddenly spoke up. "He had ugly shoulders."

Restuko giggled, almost spitting out her sip of beer. "Ugly shoulders?" Retsuko couldn't help but smile. "How can someone have ugly shoulders?"

"I had the same question," Tsunoda waved a hand whimsically. "But somehow he had ugly shoulders, what can I say."

Fenneko could see it was an obvious ploy from Tsunoda to cheer Retsuko up, but she couldn't help but smile as the image of a lopsided Tadano flashed through her mind.

"It was the voice that got me," Fenneko decided to join in. "Every time I saw him on tv I heard the voice. _'technology is the blah blah blah'_ it was grating."

The three girls fell into a full laughing fit that lasted a good few seconds before they all calmed down and took another sip from their drinks.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up girls," Retsuko smiled. "I need to take my mind of things for a while."

"Sometimes the best coping mechanism is self reflective time," Fenneko explained. "Its important to take the time to understand and process the things we're going trough."

"Maybe if you're in your mid thirties and going through a third divorce," Tsunoda rolled her eyes, making Fenneko growl under her breath. "We're young, hot and newly single. Lets hit the club celebrate that fact!"

"Uh, I don't know…maybe," Retsuko chuckled nervously. "I don't plan to have a massive night." At this Tsunoda's excitement disappeared and she settled back into her stool.

"Have plans for the weekend?" Fenneko asked, secretly thanking Retsuko for avoiding the nightclub option.

"Not plans exactly," Restuko explained. "More like damage control."

"Sounds juicy, do tell," Tsunoda suddenly perked back up.

Retsuko took a moment to devour almost half of her beer in one gulp, making Fenneko raise an eyebrow. She slammed the beer back down on the table and let out a long gasp of air as if she had almost drowned in her own beer.

"My mom is coming back to stay for the weekend," Retsuko sighed. "I guess she heard what happened and is coming to _'be there for me'_ whatever that means."

"Sounds rough," Fenneko Comforted.

"What's so bad about that?" Tsunoda probed. "Is it a bad family relationship?"

"Nothing like that," Retsuko waved it off. "I love my mom, just sometimes she can be a little…" she left it hanging.

"Embarrassing?" Tsunoda asked, but Retsuko shook her head.

"Overbearing?" Fenneko offered a solution.

"That's it!" Retsuko cried out, the drink clearly showing its early effects. "Every time they come to town I get the third degree from her. And now she has this whole relationship bombshell as ammunition."

"Satellite Parenting," Fenneko explained. "My mother is guilty of it too."

"I mean, its good seeing her again," Retsuko continued. "But every time they come to visit, they point out everything wrong with my job, my apartment, my relationships and don't even get me started on the grandkids questions."

"Ew!" Tsunoda poked her tongue out. "Kids at our age? No thank you."

"While Tsunoda is correct in that most women our age are preferring to focus on their career over child bearing," Fenneko explained, disgusted that she agreed with Tsunoda on something. "It's important to remember that your parents generation see kids as the sign that you've made it in the world." she took a quick sip of her beverage. "It sounds like her third degree comes from a good place."

"I know," Retsuko nodded. "It's just a lot to deal with right now."

Their conversation was broken by an eruption of laughter from behind them. The three girls swivelled on their bar stools to look back at the group of guys who were now in the middle of a cheers, loudly clinking their glasses together.

"I bet the guys don't get this from their parents," Retsuko almost mumbled as they looked out to the group.

"Japanese society is bent that way," Fenneko explained. "They don't get as much pressure to start a family, however their expectations to succeed and provide are far higher even though gender roles are slowly beginning to blend together for our generation and beyond." Fenneko swivelled her chair to look at Retsuko directly as she pulled out her phone. "I can show you some statistics on the subject if you would like?"

"I'll pass," Retsuko nervously waved off.

"You two are far too morbid," Tsunoda rolled her eyes as they all swung their chairs back to the bar. "Lighten up! Let's forget about life for one night and just enjoy ourselves."

Fenneko raised a finger, ready to retort Tsunoda's statement, however she paused as she saw Retsuko crack a smile out of the corner of her eye.

"You know what Tsunoda?" Retsuko began, the slightest slur making an appearance in her speech. "You're right! I spend too much time worrying about what's coming and not enough time enjoying what's happening." She took a moment to down the last dregs of her drink. "Forget the weekend, lets enjoy tonight!"

"That's the spirit!" Tsunoda explained, pulling herself up onto the bar slightly. "This calls for celebration shots!"

"Woah!" Fenneko flailed. "I don't think that's necessary." However, Tsunoda took no notice, leaning on the bar in a way that pushed her cleavage out further than normal. As expected, the male bartender was quick to respond.

"Three _Fruity Sluts_ ," Tsunoda spoke in a sultry voice. Both Fenneko and Retsuko choked for a moment as the bartender struggled to find his words before she continued. "Calm down sailor, I'm talking about the drinks."

The bartender took a moment to readjust himself before bowing and quickly moving to the drink cabinet. Tsunoda re-settled herself back on her barstool before looking back to the girls.

"Its important to keep them guessing," she winked. Fenneko shuddered and Retsuko let out a nervous chuckle.

"Having fun ladies?" a familiar male voice called from behind, making the girls turn in their stools to see Ookami and Haida standing behind them. Fenneko instantly homed in on Haida's stance. He stood slightly slouched, a dejected look on his face as Ookami held him by the shoulder. It was a look of defeat she had seen on his face many times before.

"Not as much as you guys it seems," She replied with a quizzical look at Haida who avoided direct eye contact.

"Well the nights only beginning," Ookami continued. "Phase two will begin soon, so finish your drinks and get your dancing shoes on."

"Dancing shoes!" Tsunoda's ears perked up at this line. "I like where this is going."

"I don't," Fenneko added bluntly.

"I second that motion," Haida's softly added but was quickly ignored.

"What did you have in mind?" Retsuko asked curiously.

"We're hitting the club for Haida's last breath of early twenties life," Ookami said in a voice befitting a boxing match announcer. "Let's see if this old man has any moves left in him." He wrapped Haida in a playful headlock.

"He doesn't," Haida panicked. "We better just call it a night you know, head home before we do something stupid."

"I second that motion," Fenneko mirrored Haida's previous statement, starting to feel the same panic that had gripped Haida. "I'm not really the clubbing type."

"Come on girls," Tsunoda pleaded. "I promise you'll have fun! Just a little dancing."

Fenneko felt her resting bitch face begin to slowly settle in place, however her train of thought was thoroughly derailed by what Retsuko proceeded to say.

"Why not," Retsuko added with a smile. "Maybe what you said before made sense, maybe it's the drinks. But we are in Roppongi, might as well go to a club…though it has been a while."

"That's the spirit!" Ookami announced before leaning into Haida and drunkenly _'_ _whispering'_ to him "The more girls you're with the easier it is to pick up other chicks."

"You're a true gentleman," Haida mumbled, inferring heavy sarcasm.

Fenneko slowly turned to look at the girl sitting opposite, a look of disbelief stuck to her face. Fenneko had never pictured Retsuko as the type to go clubbing. Maybe in her earlier years, but now?  
That's when the puzzle pieces fell into place in her mind and she realised the intricate web that Tsunoda had slowly been weaving into Retsukos mind. This was Retsuko living for the moment and forgetting about what happens next. She shot a cautious glance at Haida to see he was just as dumbfounded as she was.

Fenneko felt her heart sink as she realised what she was going to have to do for the sake of her stupid best friend and any hope they had of rescuing the already sunken ship that was their plans from the previous evening.

She had to bite the bullet and take one for the team. Though she wasn't going to go down with the ship alone.

"Alright," She sighed "Haida and I will come."

"Excuse me?" Haida spoke in a dull and disbelieving tone. Fenneko shoot him a look; a very specific look that can only be developed through years of close friendship and trust. It was the _"shut up, we're doing this and you have no say in this matter"_ look. Instantly Haida knew that his fate had been sealed.

Fenneko heard the soft clinks on the bar behind her, making her turn her head to see three vibrantly coloured shot glasses had been placed in front of the girls. Tsunoda swivelled in her seat and shot the bartender a quick wink.

"Can we get the bill please?" She asked. The bartender quickly nodded and rushed off to the register, clearly quite smitten by Tsunoda. She shot the other girls a quick look and Fenneko and Retsuko nervously picked up their glasses like they were holding weapons grade plutonium.

"To Haida," Tsunoda announced as she held her glass up high. "Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!" Fenneko and Retsuko cheered in unison before quickly downing the sickeningly sweet drink.

If the overtly sweet taste of the shot was any indication on the night to come, tonight was going to be rough.


	3. Chapter 3: Beats Bars and Beyond

Chapter Three: Beats Bars and Beyond

 **Authors Note: My apologies for the delay. Much like Retsuko, I too have an overworking career that takes up most of my time and energy. Also, I have taken on some notes in the reviews and have adjusted my grammar to hopefully be a little better. Let me know if there is still room for improvement. Thanks for reading!**

The Esprit Tokyo nightclub was a well-known staple of the Roppongi district. Two levels of assaulting beats, bright lights, noticeably drunk patrons and abrasively sticky floors greet you as you make your way through the entrance.  
The crowning jewel of the Esprit was not the massive, state of the art L.E.D wall behind the DJ's booth, nor was it the litany of high name DJ's that performed each night, but rather it was the impressive icosagon shaped mirror ball suspended from the roof of the second story, flowing down to spin gracefully above the ground level dance floor. Much like the ornament on the hood of a Jaguar car, it set this nightclub far above its competitors.

Also like a Jaguar car, the price left you wishing you had opted for a modest Nissan Micra instead.

Three thousand five hundred Yen was the cost of entry on a busy Friday night, and drink prices weren't much better by comparison. It was crowded, it was loud and Haida hated every damn second of it. Fenneko didn't exactly look enthused about the situation either as she sat with Haida in the furthest corner they could find from the drunk brigade of dancing buffoons. Though they certainly couldn't claim abstinence superiority in this case, as alcohol was their only escape from this nightmare.

For a night that was meant to be celebrating his birthday, Haida and Fenneko were abandoned quite quickly when they had refused to dance. He didn't mind however; it gave Fenneko and himself an opportunity to wallow in their own self-pity as they watched the target of their vexation bust a move on the dancefloor with Tsunoda from across the room. As he stared at the small girl dancing he raised an eyebrow. _Bust a move_ might not be the right phrase to describe what they were watching.  
If you have ever watched someone try to escape a bee that was buzzing around their head, then you had seen a very apt re-enactment of Retsuko's dancing style. She was definitely drunk, that much was certain, but that felt like only a piece in the puzzle to Retsuko's dancing…disorder.

"She's like…" Fenneko trailed off mid-thought, having to shout to be heard over the pounding rhythms.

"What?" Haida shouted back, neither of them taking their eyes away from Retsuko and her strange interoperative dance.

"It's like she's trying to dance two styles at once," Fenneko continued. "A bit of the robot mixed in with Bollywood dancing."

"I was thinking more like a tribal rain dance of some kind," he added.

"She looks like she's having fun at least," Fenneko casually pointed out. Fenneko was right; it was clear the small accountant didn't have a care in the world at this moment in time. She was literally dancing her worries away.

"I underestimated Tsunoda," Fenneko started again, this time grabbing Haida's gaze. "She's a lot smarter than she seems on the surface." Haida huffed a drunk laugh out at the statement.

"Tsunoda?" he waved his hands. "She's a bimbo!"

"A bimbo maybe, but not an idiot like I thought at first," She explained. "She knew from the moment we sat down at the bar this afternoon that she was going to bring Retsuko out tonight, and she calculated exactly what she needed to do to achieve her plan." Fenneko sighed before finishing her grossly overpriced gin and tonic "It would seem she's better at sticking to a plan than both of us"

"Should…" Haida paused to think through the miasma of drinks in his mind. "Should we be worried? Like, is she going to ruin _our_ plan?"

Fenneko took a moment to consider the situation, not taking her eyes off Tsunoda and Retsuko for a second. Haida moved is head, in turn, to focus on the dancing pair. While Retsuko may have been an amateur on the dance floor, it was clear Tsunoda was much more experienced. The way she moved was both enticing and sexy. But she had a skill to only send the vibes to the people she wanted.

"I think we're safe for now," Fenneko nodded. "In fact, I think she's unknowingly saving your butt right now."

"How so?" Haida scratched his head.

"She's doing an admirable job of fending off guys wanting to dance with Retsuko."

"what!" Haida shouted, jumping up from his stool and almost falling over in the process. "W-We have to do something!"

"Relax lover boy," Fenneko rolled her eyes. "There's not much you can do at this stage unless you want to get out on that dance floor?"

HH

aida Stopped dead in his tracks for a few seconds before sighing and sinking back into his stool.

"We really messed up tonight, didn't we?" he Wined. "We had a plan and now look at us! Sitting in the corner of a stupid nightclub, watching our plan get poorly danced away from across the room"

"I mean, it was mostly you that ruined the plan," Fenneko corrected. "But yes, we did mess up tonight. We just need to keep a lid on things and make sure nothing else goes wrong."

Haida sighed and finished his rum and cola. He didn't often drink spirits like whiskey or rum, but with the price of beer in this stupid club, he didn't have much choice. The only reason hard liquor was cheaper was that it was heavily diluted with water. A cost-saving measure that sailed over the heads of the average drunk nightclubber.  
The droning beat of the song finally fell into a lull and Haida regained his thoughts in the few seconds he would have of reduced volume. However, this night was not done being unforgiving, and for every moment of levity, there was an overpowering counterweight to bring him back down.

And a repeating counterweight for this night had been Ookami.

Haida sighed as he watched the man bring yet another girl across the dancefloor and towards Fenneko and himself. It was not the first time he had tried this tonight.

"Haida!" he called out with a wave once he was in earshot. Haida chose not to reply, instead opting for a simple stare.

"I'm not watching this again," Fenneko moaned. "Another watered-down drink?"

"Extra watery please," Haida smiled, heavy sarcasm implied. Fenneko nodded and disappeared across the room and into the mass of disorderly patrons surrounding the bar. He took a moment to steel himself before sitting upright in his seat and locking his gaze to Okami's.

"What now?" he grunted as the beat of the music returned.

"Easy there friend," Ookami put a hand forward like he was calming a rabid hyena. "No need to be so defensive, I'm just here to introduce," He moved his hand over to gesture to the girl he had brought over. "Haida, Meet Kumiko. Kumiko, this is the Birthday boy!"

Haida had to admit, Kumiko was attractive. Far more attractive than the girls Haida would typically consider in his league. She was wearing a tight white shirt and a black leather dress that didn't leave much to the imagination. He was sitting, so he could only guess that she would be taller than him, but she was wearing very high heels. He couldn't tell her age or discern the subtler features of her face as the nightclub was quite dark, but he guessed she was a bit younger than him.

"Congratulations!" She spoke in a squeaky and exuberant tone. She grabbed his hand with hers and shook it enthusiastically. It was clear to Haida that this girl was perhaps a bit drunk…to say the least.

"Thanks," he politely nodded. "It was nice meeting you."

"Nonsense!" Ookami interjected before Haida could fully terminate the conversation. He put his hand on Kumiko's back and guided her to the stool next to Haida. "Why don't you stay here Kumiko and keep mister grumpy here some company while I go get us some drinks."

"Ookami, that really not…" Haida trailed off as he realised how pointless his words were as Ookami disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Haida sighed to himself before he swivelled in his stool to face this new mystery girl…number three of the night.

"He's funny," Kumiko chuckled. "Have you two been friends for a long time?"

"We work together." Haida kept his answer short, his tone reflecting his lack of enthusiasm.

"Wow! What kind of job do you have?"

"I work in accounting."

"Is that like, numbers and stuff?" She asked quizzically. Haida buried his head into his hand. Where did Ookami find these girls?

"Yes," he sighed. "It's _like_ , numbers and stuff."

"That's cool!" she smiled. "I was never good at numbers, so that's why I want to open my cosmetics shop one day." Haida paused in disbelief for a moment, not sure if this girl was just being humorous. But he could tell by the glimmer in her eye that she was not joking…in the slightest.

"You are aware that owning a business involves a lot of accounting, right?" He probed. She paused for a second and looked at him like he was insane.

"No, weren't you listening?" she retorted. "I said it's a cosmetics shop, like, makeup and beauty products."

This was Haidas brutal daily reminder that the world is a truly diverse place. Diversity in ethnicity, in socio-economic backgrounds and in a more relevant vein, intelligence. He felt a pang of guilt run through him as he silently judged this girl. His expression softened, and he relaxed his shoulders.

"Well," he began to explain. "You can sell cosmetics and beauty products, but you still need to calculate their cost relative to the market and your profit margin. You also need to keep a close track on your expenditures as well as how much money is coming in from sales. And that's not even mentioning taxes and import tariffs." He straightened his stance in his seat, feeling a little like the wise older brother at this moment. "There's a lot more to owning a business than just knowing about your products."

Kumiko sat bewildered for a moment. She had a look on her face that made it seem like Haida had shown her the vastness of the universe in that very moment. But it was a momentary look that quickly switched to a more sultry stare. Haida nearly leapt out of his seat as he felt her hand reach over and take hold of his inner thigh. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and the air rushed out of his lungs.

"Maybe I just need to find a nice, sexy numbers man to help me with that," Kumiko spoke in a low tone, leaning over to speak into his ears. "you wouldn't happen to know anybody like that, would you?"

This was a very familiar sensation to Haida. Not the hand on his inner thigh, that was quite alien to him, but rather the feeling of sudden and inevitable failure of all higher motor functions. His breathing became short and stagnant, blood rushed to his head and his left leg began to shake uncontrollably like he had been holding it in the air for ten minutes. He tried with all his might to focus enough to at least spit out an answer, but all he could form was a spattering of half words, each interrupting the last.  
He was completely frozen like an excel spreadsheet with five Hundred sheets open. Where was Fenneko when he needed her? She had always gotten him out of these situations in the past.

"Oh, sweetheart." A familiar chipper voice brought Haida's mind back to reality for a moment. He felt Kumiko's hand release his inner thigh and a brief wave of relief passed over him. The pair moved their attention to the front to see a doe-eyed Tsunoda standing before them, a wicked smile plastered on her face "You're barking up the wrong tree girl," Tsunoda continued, her attention set on the new girl. "He's about as gay as a rainbow in a spring shower."

Haida felt a jolt run down his spine. Did she just call him gay? However, before he could form a response he bit his tongue as he felt Kumiko lean back in her stool and away from Haida. He felt the oppressive weight start to lift from his body and his muscles began to relax.

"Shame," Kumiko sighed. "Why are all the cute ones gay?"

"Why don't you head back to Ookami?" Tsunoda softly suggested. "You might have more luck with him"

Kumiko nodded as she pulled herself off the stool and to her feet. She took two brief steps before looking back once more to a stunned Haida "See you later cutie." She said with a wink before disappearing into the crowd once more.

Haida was left bewildered. So many things had just happened in such a short space of time that his brain was struggling to catch up to the moment as the blood rushed back to his head. With his returning clarity, he also noticed another blood rushing sensation and quickly crossed his legs.

"You know," Tsunoda began as she pulled herself up to sit on the barstool next to Haida. "You make a lot more sense to me now." She clipped open her purse and pulled out a small, circular hand mirror and began to check her facial features to make sure everything still looked right.

Haida was still a little flustered, but felt he needed to set the record straight. "Tsunoda," he took a quick breath. "you know I'm not gay, right?"

Tsunoda let out a quick chuckle, "Of course you're not, silly! But I had to say something to get her off you."

The puzzle pieces clicked in Haida's mind and he nodded in surprised approval. Haida grabbed his glass and swilled the last dregs of his watery drink.

"You're not gay," she continued. "You're just scared of women." At this Haida almost spit his drink across the room. He managed to swallow, but subsequently fell into a coughing fit that lasted a good five seconds.

She had hit the nail on the head.

"What? That's crazy!" he tried to hide his nervousness with laughter, but it came out more maniacal than he had expected. "Why would you think that? Some of my closest friends are girls!"

Tsunoda closed her eyes and lightly shook her head as she placed her hand mirror back into her purse. "friends sure," she smiled. "Anything more than that though…" she left it hanging.

"I'm not afraid of women!" Haida reiterated. "I'm a grown man, not some pubescent teenager!"

"Is that so?" Tsunoda swivelled her barstool so she was facing Haida. Slowly the corners of her mouth curled up to an almost wicked height. "So, if I were to tell you that I've always found you _very_ attractive, that wouldn't bother you?"

Haida felt the familiar paralysis slowly build up in his body once more. What on earth was Tsunoda saying? Was she hitting on him? What the hell was going on tonight? He had managed to comfortably cruise for months without any awkward interactions with the opposite sex, and now he had two heart-stopping moments in five minutes.

Why couldn't the universe just let him secretly pine for a girl like Retsuko, who was not inclined to randomly grab his inner thigh and whisper sweet nothings in his ear? Instead the universe, in its infinite knowledge, had decided to take his greatest weakness and waterboard him with it.

"It's a shame you're not really my type." Tsunoda's expression softened as she let a playful giggle slip through her speech.

She was teasing him.

Haidas heartbeat began to slow down once again as the brutal reality of Tsunoda's cruelty sank in. In one fell swoop, she had proved her point. However, at this stage, he was more worried that he might develop cardiac arrhythmia from the multiple sudden changes in heartbeat in such a short period of time.

He sighed audibly as he sunk back into his chair. Turns out Fenneko was right, they had underestimated Tsunoda.

"Don't beat yourself up too much," Tsunoda waved a hand at him. "It's actually pretty cute when you think about it."

"Cute?" Haida raised an eyebrow. _Cute_ wasn't exactly the word he had been hoping for when I came to his attractiveness as a male.

"Yeah, in a slightly pathetic kind of way."

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" Haida muttered, feeling more crushed than usual.

Tsunoda Leaned across in her chair to look past Haida and Haida followed suit, swivelling in his chair to see what had just grabbed the small girls attention. Emerging from the crowd that surrounded the bar, and carrying two fresh drinks in hand was Fenneko, approaching them with a Curious look. Haida's gaze returned to his other side as Tsunoda jumped off the stool next to him and dusted her backside down with her hands.

"There is a time and a place for beating around the bush Haida," she explained as she slowly moved back to the dance floor. "And sometimes you just need to bite the bullet."

With a quick wink at Haida, she turned and disappeared back into the crowd of dancing drunks, making a B-line back to Retsuko.  
Haida slouched down into his stool once more. The past few minutes had left him feeling drained both emotionally and physically, but it was Tsunoda last line that remained at the forefront of his thoughts. Whether it was intentional or not, Haida couldn't help but realise her words formed a double entendre.

"What was that all about?" Fenneko questioned as she pulled herself up onto the bar stool and slid Haida's fresh drink across the bar and into his waiting hands. He lifted the drink to his lips but didn't take a drink straight away as he was lost in thought. He stared across the room at Retsuko as she danced the night away with Tsunoda.  
By chance, Retsuko's eyes locked with him from across the room and she beamed a wide, drunk smile at him, beckoning him over with a wave of her hands.

He knew at that exact moment that Tsunoda had been right. There was a time and place for beating around the bush, and tonight wasn't one of them.

"Earth to haida," Fenneko waved a hand in front of Haida's face. "Did the crap music finally melt your brain or something?"

"Fenneko," Haida let out a deep sigh as he pulled his drink away from his mouth for a second. "I'm about to do something I'm not particularly proud of." Haida could tell by the change in Fenneko's expression that she instantly knew what he was referring to. "And I hope our friendship is strong enough that you won't hold this against me for the rest of my life"

"It's not." She slowly shook her head "and I will." Haida sighed once more before downing his whole drink in one powerful gulp. He slammed the drink down on the table and straightened his collar.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," He spoke with confidence as he begrudgingly made his way onto the dancefloor.


	4. Chapter 4: Mornings Nofilter

**Chapter 4: #morning #nofilter**

 **Hi All! Its been awhile, but I'm back. Just a quick note, I've made some pretty major changes to chapters one and two so it fits nicely with the events of season two. So if you have time I highly recommend having a re-read.**

Fenneko was slowly pulled from her sleep to the sound of light rain beating on a nearby window. She tried to open her eyes but found they were too heavy to respond, so she simply rolled onto her side. In the motion she could feel her head pounding and throbbing, her mouth was dry and her feet were aching.

She was definitely feeling the aftereffects of a night of drinking.

She tried to take a few deep breaths to quell the feeling of sickness that so often came with a hangover, but in the process noticed something slightly off. She took another deep breath in through her nose to confirm her suspicions. The pillow did not smell like hers. It was a familiar scent, something she had smelt before, but it didn't smell like her shampoo.

Slowly as her brain began to activate, she noticed more things that were out of place. The air conditioner didn't rattle every ten seconds like hers, and judging by the sound of the rain, the bed was a lot closer to the window than in her apartment. Finally, she rolled onto her back and forced her eyes open. She felt a momentary dizziness come over her as her eyes adjusted to the light and she felt like she would throw up for a second, but as the feeling subsided, she began to acknowledge her surroundings.

It was a particular spot of water damage in the corner of the roof that indicated to her where she had woken up. Looking down from the roof and to the band posters on the wall confirmed her suspicions.

She was in Haida's Apartment.

It wasn't a large or glamorous apartment by any stretch of the imagination. A simple living room with a cramped kitchen and a small bedroom en-suite was more than enough for him. It did have nice hardwood floors that she liked far more than the tatami mats she had in her apartment, though her apartment was far less cluttered with junk than Haida's.  
Every corner of his small apartment was filled to the brim with music related paraphernalia, from bass guitars to amps and racks of old CD's from bands Fenneko had never even heard of. She had reasoned long ago that Haida could have afforded a nice apartment closer to the city if he didn't spend so much on such an expensive hobby, but she conceded that was just what made him who he is.

She moved her head to look down at the floor next to the bed to see Haida curled up in a tight ball on the floor, his head resting on his favourite leather jacket. Sitting just by his face was his phone with its softly blinking green light, indicating that Haida had unread messages. She begrudgingly lifted herself up until she was sitting upright in the bed and began to pat it down, hunting for her phone hidden in the sheets. Once she located the illusive electronic device, she held it up and turned it on, instantly lowering the brightness as it beamed into her eyeballs.

She too had a barrage of unread messages from various people banked up from late last night, to early this morning. She took a moment to breath and settle her stomach before she looked at the time in the top right corner of her phone.

It was already past eleven in the morning.

"Haida," she croaked out before clearing her voice for the first time this morning. "Haida, wake up."

Haida let out a groan worthy of an old eighties horror movie before rolling over to turn away from Fenneko. Fenneko sighed and shook her head before turning her attention back to her phone to begin sorting through the wave of messages.

The majority were Instagram and snapchat notifications that she promptly flicked through. She felt her head throb with each video as they seemed to be a chronology of her night and journey of increasing intoxication. However, the following video made her finally crack a smile for the first time since waking up. It was a post by Tsunoda, showing a clearly drunk Haida dancing in the crowded nightclub, the words 'birthday boy has some moves' posted as its caption. Fenneko noted that he looked generally very carefree as he flailed almost as awkwardly as Retsuko did next to him in the video. For a brief moment Fenneko almost envied him for being brave enough to dance, something she would never be caught doing.

"Haida," she spoke a little louder than before. "Check your phone, there are some pretty good snapchats from last night."

Haida Groaned loudly and shuffled around on the floor like a toddler who had been disturbed during their nap. He slowly rose up to a sitting position, crossing his legs and bringing his hand to grasp the side of his neck. With a few quick jerking motions and a shudderingly loud cracking sound he sighed with a final stretch of his hands above his head.

"What time is it?"

"A little after eleven," Fenneko answered as she switched her phone off to save what little battery it had left.

"My head is pounding," Haida complained as he squeezed his temples. "How much did I have to drink last night? And why are my legs so sore?"

Fenneko quickly reached under the sheets to make sure she was still wearing her pants before throwing the sheet aside and shifting herself until her feet were dangling over the bed.

"Check your phone for that answer," she winked at Haida before slipping off the bed and onto her aching feet. She could feel a few blisters as she shifted from foot to foot. Haida gave her a quizzical look as he patted his pants for his phone. Fenneko caught a whiff of stench and quickly smelt her shirt and winced slightly.

"Have you fixed your shower yet?" she asked as she began to move across the apartment and to the washroom.

"No, not yet" Haida waved off uninterestedly, too preoccupied by his phone to look at her. "You just need to turn the hot water tap twice as much as the cold water tap and wait five minutes."

"Also, I'm borrowing one of your shirts."

"You still haven't brought my shirt back from last time!"

"Do you want me smelling like a pig?"

"Fine," Haida sighed in defeat. "Just, take a Sex Pistols one. They suck anyway."

"The Shirts suck or the band sucks?" Fenneko smiled as she pulled a white Sex Pistols shirt from Haida's draws before opening the washroom door.

"I'm not even going to answer that question."

Fenneko looked around as she closed the door to the washroom behind her. Haida's washroom was one of the many prefabricated bathrooms in Tokyo, so by design it was almost identical to hers. In the entrance was the sink and toilet, then behind a frosted glass door was the bathroom. Fenneko took a moment to check her face in the mirror, noting that Haida's washroom was far less cluttered with products and appliances than hers. She sighed at her tired and scuffed face with smudged makeup and messy hair before turning around and sliding the frosted door to the bathroom open.

"Looks like we bought Gyoza at some point last night," Haida yelled through the thin walls. "Want me to heat some up?"

"Sure, but let's get a proper breakfast after this." Fenneko yelled back, closing the bathroom door behind her. "I need coffee."

Just like her bathroom, there was floorspace with a stool to wash and a small tub for soaking. Hanging from the wall was a shower hose and next to that was a towel rack and small shelf with soaps and shampoo.  
She took her clothes off, reeking of booze and sweat before entering the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Sitting down on the stool, she squirted out some of Haida's bodywash. It was unquestionably a male bodywash as it smelled rugged and musky, but it was better than smelling like a nightclub. She inspected the blisters on her feet as she scrubbed them down, cursing her high heels. She wished she was taller so she didn't have to wear them so often.

Her attention was suddenly pulled away from her feet as she heard the sound of the door to the washroom opening. A shot of panic jolted through her spine and she almost instinctively covered herself before remembering that she was separated by a frosted door. Through the door she could just barely make out the silhouette of Haida entering the bathroom.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to walk in on girls while they're bathing?"

"Relax," Haida chuckled. "I can't see you. Besides, I just want to clean my face up." Fenneko rolled her eyes before going back to bathing.

"Have you checked snapchat?"

"Yeah I have," Haida chuckled, making Fenneko furrow her brow. She thought he would be more embarrassed.

"Nice moves dancing queen," Fenneko jeered, hoping for a slightly better reaction this time.

"You're one to talk," Was Haida's quick reaction. "Haven't you seen Retsuko's Snapchat?"

"I hadn't yet," Fenneko answered curiously. "My phone is almost out of battery."

"Oh man!" Haida chuckled. Fenneko watched as his silhouette pulled out his phone from his pocket and began to type something before turning "open the door a crack and I'll pass you my phone."

Fenneko cautiously stood up and wiped her hands dry on the towel before reaching over to open the frosted door slightly, being careful to not stand too close to the frosted glass and reveal too much unwanted detail in her silhouette. Haida's hand poked through and she quickly snatched the phone from him, pushing his hand back quickly and closing the door.  
She looked for a moment before clicking on Retsuko's snapchat story. Everything seemed pretty normal, starting with a picture of Haida's birthday cake, a bento box for her lunch and a short video of her, Fenneko and Tsunoda at the bar at the start of the night. It wasn't until the story reached the nightclub did Fenneko begin to panic.

It started out ok with a picture of some shots and a short video of her and Tsunoda dancing. However, it then followed up with a video of Retsuko, Fenneko, Haida and Tsunoda all dancing while excitedly singing along to an apparent club remix of the baby shark song.

"What!" Fenneko almost screamed.

"It gets better," Haida Laughed.

Fenneko glued her eyes to the phone as the story continued. Next was a photo of her, Retsuko and Tsunoda all squishing together for a group photo on the dancefloor, clearly very intoxicated and with the caption of 'Dace Squad' plastered across the bottom.

The final Photo showed Fenneko, Haida and Tsunoda all sitting at the bar of a takeaway Gyoza shop. Haida had his head down on the bench, while Fenneko and Tsunoda sat together, laughing about something that was apparently very funny. It was obvious a drunk Retsuko had taken the picture as the photo was blurry and the caption read 'My party team is now my snacking team'.

Fenneko was shaken to her core. She had apparently gotten so drunk that she threw all she held so dear to the wayside. Dancing, singing popular songs, actually enjoying Tsunoda's company, who was this monster she had become last night.

She quickly cracked the bathroom door open and shoved her hand through, almost dropping the phone.

"Take it away," she sighed. "Take away my shame." The moment Haida grabbed his phone back she almost slammed the door and reached over to grab the shower hose. She pulled it off the wall, turned the hot and cold handles and promptly held the showerhead above her, half to wash the soap away and half to wash away the shame. She squealed however as she was hit with a sudden barrage of frigid water, making her drop the showerhead.

"I told you," Haida spoke. "You have to wait 5 minutes for it to warm up"

"I heard you the first time!" she snapped back.

She stood in silence for a moment, naked, afraid and now cold. It was rare for her to get as drunk as she did that night. She knew from her history that once she reached a certain point of intoxication, she wouldn't have the willpower to stop. It was obvious she had gone above and beyond that point and she wondered how much of a role Tsunoda had in convincing her.

"You know what," Fenneko pondered out loud. "I think we got played Haida."

"Huh?" Haida mumbled, his attention apparently back to the mirror "Played by who?"

"I think Tsunoda had the whole night planned out from the very start."

"Actually, now that you mention it, she was the one who convinced me to man up and dance with Retsuko," he paused for a moment before softly wincing. "Also, I think she knows about the…problem I have"

Fenneko sighed as she picked the shower hose back up, checking the water was warm before rinsing herself off. Tsunoda seemed to be the only thing that was different to a typical night out for her and Haida. Admittedly Retsuko was there as well, but Fenneko didn't feel Retsuko had the convincing power to really be a factor in this.

Only one question remained: What was Tsunoda's plan? What did she have to gain by getting them all together and getting them plastered? It was a peculiar move, but in the game of chess every move mattered. And it was clear now that Tsunoda was no amateur at the game.

"Truly, she is a strategic genius the likes I haven't faced before."

"What?" Haida questioned. Fenneko switched the shower off and reached for a towel, wrapping her hair and drying it vigorously.

"I thought we were playing a game against the clock," She began as she dried herself. "But I see now we have had an opponent all along. And her name is Tsunoda."

Haida Groaned loudly, seemingly slouching behind the frosted glass. "I've seen this before," he explained. "You get so competitive over the strangest things and suddenly you become the Sun Tzu of social situations. Can't you just be happy that we spent the whole night with Retsuko?"

"Haida!" she chided him. "I want to be Retsuko's friend just as much as you want to be her boyfriend, but I need to win even more than that."

"Oh, I see," Haida sung. "You are worried Tsunoda is competition for the spot of close friend."

"T-that's not it at all!" she panicked. "I just like winning."

"Finally, a chance for me to be condescending to you," he giggled. "This is a rare moment; I should savor this."

"Haida! I swear to god if you don't shut up, I will open this door and we will see how condescending you really are when you are a blubbering mess."

Haida froze for a second. "You wouldn't dare."

"I'm confident your fear of women is stronger than my shame of being naked in front of you."

"Alright!" Haida surrendered, a slight nervous stutter in his voice. "You win just…" Haida trailed off for a moment, almost as though he was lost in thought. Fenneko knew him well enough to know just by the sound of his voice that he was switching from playful to serious.

"Just, remember," Haida started again. "Not everyone is like them. We're not in college anymore."

Fenneko somehow knew he was going to draw the same parallel that she had. They had spent so much tome together now that they really had begun to think in similar ways.

"Tsunoda…" She tried to form the words as delicately as she could. "She reminds me of them a lot."

Haida sighed audibly. "I thought as much," he spoke softly. "But something tells me she is different."

"And what is that?"

He paused for a moment as if deciding what to say or how to say it. "I'll explain it over Coffee," he finally answered. "For now, just trust me."

Fenneko felt a smile fall over her face at this statement. "Ok," Was all she needed to say.

A silence fell over the washroom for a moment. Not an awkward silence, but a silence of contentment. A silence of two friends who felt nothing but comfort in each other's presence. A silence that needed to be earned through trial and support of one another.

"Haida," Fenneko finally broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"You need to get out so I can get changed."

"Ah!" Haida panicked slightly as he opened the door to the rest of the apartment. "Of course, I really don't want to have to see you naked"

Fenneko's smile suddenly grew to a wicked grin as she remembered.

"You mean, again, don't you?"

"That was six years ago Fenneko!" Haida shouted. "Who doesn't lock their door when they are changing!" and with that he slammed the door shut, leaving Fenneko to giggle to herself.


End file.
